Causes of alopecia in birds or why do chickens go bald? Why do chickens drop feathers and how to treat chicken alopecia? (2018)

845 02/28/2019 7 min.

It is difficult to imagine a rural farmstead without an active, nimble flock of chickens. Breeding poultry allows you to provide your family with dietary eggs and meat, and brings additional income. Keeping chickens is not difficult, but sometimes even experienced poultry farmers have trouble. These include baldness - an unfortunate phenomenon that signals a malfunction in the chicken body. Let's figure out why chickens go bald, what to do in this case and how to prevent baldness.

Definition of alopecia

Baldness in chickens has a scientific name - alopecia. What does this phenomenon actually look like? First of all, areas of bare skin on the body of a bird are striking, which should not be (normally, only the legs in the lower part are deprived of plumage, as well as small areas skin around the eyes and beak). Bald patches may cover large area body, the chicken becomes "naked".

Read about how to build a spacious chicken coop with your own hands in this.

There is a bare-necked breed of chickens, as well as a completely featherless breed bred in Israel.

The difference between baldness and seasonal molting of chickens:

1. Molting has a pronounced periodicity: fluff in chickens is replaced by feathers a few days after hatching from the egg, in adult chickens, molting occurs in early autumn.
2. When shedding, pronounced bald patches do not form, feathers change alternately.

Characteristic signs of alopecia:

• loss of tail feathers;
• exposing the skin to different areas body;
• breaking and rarefaction of the pen;
• the disappearance of the downy layer;
• depression, decreased egg production.

You can read more about vitamins for laying hens at.

In addition, featherless chickens lose decorative qualities which is important for some breeds. A sick bird is not suitable for breeding.

If baldness is not treated, the chicken can lose plumage almost completely - up to 90% of the feather cover.

Causes of baldness

Baldness in chickens is caused various factors. They can be roughly divided into two groups:

Chickens can peck each other's feathers, this is called. Pecking and even cannibalism is not such a rare occurrence in the world of birds.

Feather pecking is more common in crowded stocking, when the birds are limited in their choice of food. Individuals chosen by the herd as prey suffer from heat loss and stress, often fall ill and die if not isolated.

The use of special goggles for chickens that prevent pecking and cannibalism.

Factors provoking "unkind" behavior in laying hens:

When pecking is detected, try to improve the conditions of the livestock:

1. Increase the walking area. With free range, the risk of cannibalism in the herd is greatly reduced.
2. Eliminate sudden changes in lighting, rearrangements in the poultry house, harsh noise;
3. Pay attention to the quantity and , quality ;
4. Review the diet of laying hens and young animals, increase the protein and vitamin content;
5. AT severe cases cannibalism spend debeaking- circumcision by one third of the upper half of the beak. Debicking causes pain to aggressors when pecking, making it difficult to pluck the feather. It is usually held during the cold season. It is advisable that this operation be performed by a veterinarian or other experienced specialist.

In England and the United States, standards are being developed for farmers to refrain from debeaking.

Pecking is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the dominant behavior of males and females. Aggression is usually manifested by attempts to peck at the head or neck from above, this is a feature of species behavior.

Often the rooster plucks the feathers on the neck of the favorites of his "harem". If bald patches appeared on the back of the neck, on the back at the base of the wings - most likely to blame vigorous activity rooster.

Read about other chicken diseases and their treatment.

Signs of damage by perioeds:

• the bases of the feathers are damaged, small holes in the shaft are noticeable;
• baldness develops rapidly;
• chickens constantly itch, clean feathers, behave restlessly;
• young growth lags behind in development, egg production decreases.

Read more about the treatment of chickens in.

Frontoline is sprayed on the chicken until its feathers are wet.

Shedding in chickens

Moulting is the process of dying off and replacing old feathers with new ones. Moulting time depends on the age, season and physiological state of the bird.

Shedding chickens are divided into the following types:

• juvenile - the change of fluff of chickens to a feather cover;
• seasonal - the body's reaction to changing weather conditions;
• natural - associated with age-related decline in productivity;
• forced, used by poultry farmers to prepare for the laying period
• painful - caused by diseases, hormonal disruptions or improper diet.

Feather loss in chickens is considered normal if it occurs during the season and does not exceed allowable rate baldness.

Shedding in laying hens takes place in the fall. The change of the feather occurs gradually, starting from the neck, then the back, abdomen, ending with the wings. During molting, chickens are restless, it is better not to touch them, as the growing feather stumps are painful to touch. During the molting period, vitamins and mineral supplements must be included in the diet of chickens.

Baldness prevention

Improving conditions of detention

An important role in the prevention of baldness in chickens is played by the conditions of detention. To prevent the disease, you must comply with the following requirements:

When examining your farmstead, ask yourself questions: do chickens have enough food, living space? Are there factors that cause stress in birds? Try to eliminate sources of discomfort.

Nutrition for alopecia

A balanced feed diet plays a critical role in disease prevention. The diet of chickens must include minerals and vitamins. So, calcium and sulfur are necessary for the reproduction of bird feathers, bone growth, the formation eggshell. The chicken body also needs trace elements: zinc, selenium, iodine, manganese, copper, iron.

Common mineral food supplements:

• table salt - a source of chlorine and sodium;
• chalk, limestone;
• calcium monophosphate;
• boiled and crushed eggshells;
• crushed shell;
• sulfur in the amount of 0.2-0.3 g per serving of feed;
• Glauber's salt;
• iodine-manganese solution;
• ground feathers, horns and hooves of cattle (contain cystine);
• meat and bone, fish or blood meal.

Approximate diet of sick chickens.

Mineral additives must be used in the preparation of homemade mash, they are used more carefully when feeding with ready-made feed.

vitamin therapy

Complex vitamin and mineral mixtures are sold in pet stores. Examples of additives - Ryabushka, Zdravur, Megamix. Nice results shows prebiotic Chiktonik, which is given in a diluted form.

When the first signs of alopecia appear, you need to increase the proportion of protein in the diet of chickens, and reduce the fat content. Vitamin B12 is added to food, it can also be administered intramuscularly.

Video

This video reveals the causes of baldness in chickens.

You can read about the composition of good compound feed for laying hens at.

Kira Stoletova

Every person who breeds poultry wants his animals to be healthy and the productivity from their breeding to be at the highest possible level. But sometimes it happens that birds fall out of feathers in different parts body. This process has received the scientific name - alopecia. The causes of the phenomenon can be different, therefore, before starting to take any measures, the owners should find out why feathers fall out of chickens. Only then can you begin to fight alopecia.

It is important to remember that self-treatment of animals, as well as self-treatment of people, can be carried out only after coordinating the methods with a specialist. It is also important to remember that the use of official medicines does not always give an immediate effect.

Distinctive features of the problem

It's no secret that chickens, like any other birds, go through the season. During this period, feathers from the tail fall out of the birds, foci appear on the neck, and feathers fall off the wings. Therefore, a person who first encountered such a phenomenon as feather loss may confuse the change of plumage and alopecia.

During the loss of feathers in chickens, which is not due to the seasonal change of plumage, certain parts of the body of the bird fall under the influence of the problem, namely:

• neck and chest area;
• less often - back and tail.

If the fallen feathers are discolored, this clearly indicates that the bird has come under the influence of alopecia. Also, due to the development of a problem situation, fluff may also fall out, which does not occur during seasonal molting.

Chickens go bald due to alopecia at any time of the year. This is one of the main distinctive features to help breeders determine when it's time to take care of the health of their birds.

As soon as the owner notices that the feathers of his pets began to fall out too abundantly, discolor and cause baldness in certain areas of the body, it is worth finding out what is the cause of the alopecia and taking measures to eliminate the problem, otherwise the chickens may completely lose their plumage. In most cases, it can be argued that complete baldness due to alopecia threatens representatives of meat or meat and dairy breeds, for example,.

What causes feathers to fall out

In order to provide timely and the right help to your household, it is important to correctly determine the cause of the loss of plumage from the many possible ones. At the current time, the following reasons for the development of the problem are known, due to which plumage may fall out in laying hens:

Feathers fall out in domestic chickens due to the fact that the diet of birds is not balanced enough. Deviations in bird feeding become the main reason why such a problematic situation as alopecia develops, the skin rejects the feather. Here you can draw a fairly simple analogy with a person: if in human body any vitamin or important element present in insufficient quantities, this begins to affect his state of health and appearance, the skin becomes pale and dry. The chickens are similar disadvantage begin to lose their plumage on the neck, chest or tail.

Baldness of a bird on the neck and other parts of the body can develop in case of a lack of the following elements obtained through nutrition:

• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• sulfur.

However, in poultry, feathers fall out of the tail or other part of the body, not only when it is not properly fed. In the conditions of keeping laying hens, there is another reason why plumage is rapidly falling out. Chickens can lose their plumage if, when kept at home, the owners provided them with insufficient lighting, not well organized, or did not maintain the proper level of cleanliness.

If, in the conditions of keeping and caring for birds, there are no violations that can cause a problem, and feathers continue to fall out on the back, neck or priest, it is worth considering whether the pets receive enough food, maybe they have a lack of vitamins. During the period of seasonal change of plumage, birds eat 2 times more than in the rest of the time. It is for this reason that with insufficient feeding, the chicken may lose those feathers that she needs.

Symptomatic picture of alopecia

The fact that a bird is prone to plumage loss can be recognized by several signs. As soon as they are identified, it is worth starting to determine the cause of this phenomenon and appropriate therapeutic measures, otherwise the health of the bird will weaken so much that it will become vulnerable to all possible diseases.

The presence of alopecia is indicated not only by the deprivation of feathers and fluff, but also by a decrease in the egg production of pets, a decrease in immunity and weight loss. There are also known cases of chicken due to the development of this problem.

With alopecia, basically the desired cover falls on the neck, back, root of the tail, on the stomach and chest. Running cases can lead to feathered. The initial examination of a sick animal also shows that in the affected areas of the code it has become inflamed, sometimes bruising may even appear.

Why feathers fall out of chickens, how to get rid of a feather-eater (tick) at no cost

disease - feathers fall out

BALD HENS REASON // BIRD

What are the ways to solve the problem

In order to cure your pets, it is important to understand as clearly as possible why feathers fall out on the butt or neck of both the chicken and the rooster. Each specific case The development of alopecia requires individual measures, so the owner needs to clearly know what to do if plumage falls out on the back, neck or tail, depending on the cause.

How to deal with malnutrition

As mentioned earlier, the causes of feather loss begin with an improper diet. An auxiliary symptom in this case is that the feathers do not shine enough. Egg laying levels may also decrease. In this case, you can fix the problem as follows:

1. Add more minerals to the feed and. You can do this by buying special additives in the store.
2. In addition to vitamins, add sulfur to the feed in the amount of 0.3 g for each meal. Instead of sulfur, Glauber's salt can be used.
3. The use of solutions of iodine or potassium permanganate will help restore the balance of minerals. To prevent the loss of plumage, such solutions are watered in the morning 1 time in 2 days.

What will help stop the loss with the wrong content

If the reason for the development of feather loss lies in the conditions in which birds are kept, it is quite simple to correct the situation: all pollution should be removed from the premises for keeping birds, and then carried out. Also, checking and adjusting the ventilation system and airing the premises will help fix the problem.

In order not to carry out regular disinfection with chemicals, it is possible to foresee natural destruction infections from the sun.

To do this, it is enough to make a window of a sufficiently large size in the building where the chickens are located. Big window allow sunlight to freely enter the building for natural disinfection.

The use of ash will help protect your feathered pets from falling feathers on the neck and other parts of the body.

What else can help

It is important not only to stop the loss of plumage on the neck and other parts of the body of the chicken, but also to restore the lost cover. It is also necessary to return the fallen indicators. To do this, you can purchase lamps that emit ultraviolet light, with sufficient financial capacity. This will increase the level of egg laying in winter time and replenish the missing amount of vitamin D.

Also, in restoring the state of health with alopecia, the use of the following foods helps:

• legumes;
• bone flour;
• cabbage;
• roots;
• cake;
• oats.

Also, the stabilization of adult hens and chickens when feathers fall out will help reduce the amount of fatty foods in the diet. Sometimes a disturbance in the feeding system of birds can cause molting.

To understand what exactly causes molting, you need to monitor pets, observing whether a change in food helps. If a change in diet does not help, you need to look for a specialist veterinarian.

Conclusion

Alopecia is enough serious problem. It leads to the fact that birds not only lose their feathers on the neck and elsewhere, they go into a state of general weakness and vulnerability to disease due to weakened immunity.

Before doing anything to stop this process, it is important to distinguish alopecia from normal seasonal shedding. Features the following:

• feathers lose their luster, and the fallen plumage is discolored;
• with alopecia, not only feathers can fall out, but also fluff;
• the skin in the affected areas turns red, bruising is possible;
• the level of laying eggs decreases, immunity is weakened.

So, if the pets are going bald, and the skin at the place where the feathers fell out turned red - it's time to run as fast as you can to the veterinarian for advice, although there are many folk remedies that will help eliminate the problem and stabilize the condition of feathered pets. However, before applying them, it is important to correctly determine the cause of alopecia, otherwise the measures taken will not be effective enough and will not be able to completely eliminate the problem. In the event that all of the above methods do not help, you need to change the place where the birds are kept.

Each owner of a poultry farm, breeding chickens, runs the risk of encountering such a problem as alopecia. It's a bird disease hallmark which is that the feathers of the rooster or chickens begin to fall out. Moreover, this phenomenon has nothing to do with seasonal molting. Shedding occurs completely, down to fluff. In some very advanced cases, the bird may remain completely bald. In this connection, the disease begins to develop and how to deal with it? Information about this will be useful to all poultry farmers.

Inexperienced breeders can easily confuse alopecia with seasonal shedding. In fact, they are completely different things. During the period of seasonal molting, the bird does not lose the main part of the feather, but only changes the edge. With alopecia, rooster feathers fall out completely, most often this phenomenon is observed on the neck, chest, abdomen, and tail. In particularly difficult circumstances, the chicken can go completely bald.

As a rule, fallen feathers become discolored, in addition, they may not fall out completely, but simply break off at the base. First of all, the back and tail begin to lose feathers, and then everything else. At the same time, the rest of the plumage loses its natural luster and looks untidy. Measures taken in time can return the necessary plumage to the bird.

Causes

Why are feathers falling out? There may be several reasons, but the primary source of the problem lies in the conditions of the poultry. Despite the fact that the chicken bird is not picky, it also requires certain conditions. Otherwise, all this affects the health of birds. So, the main reasons why rooster feathers leave their rightful place:

These are the reasons associated specifically with the disease, but chickens can lose feathers due to the peculiar behavior of a rooster, which can pluck out the cover of birds, thereby showing its dominance in the team. But that's a slightly different story.

Returning to the conversation about alopecia, it is worth noting that this ailment entails a number of consequences and requires action when symptoms are detected. The disease does not lead to death, however, it causes a lot of inconvenience. First of all, the rooster begins to experience inconvenience due to the lack of natural cover, heat transfer is disturbed, the functioning internal systems. Decreased productivity of birds. Chickens may gradually stop laying completely. In order for rooster feathers to stop falling out, certain measures are necessary, which are selected depending on the root cause of baldness.

Methods of dealing with alopecia and its prevention

As mentioned above, the causes of the disease, due to which rooster feathers fall out, lie in general conditions bird keeping. Therefore, in order for the rooster to regain its plumage, it is necessary to make changes in that part of the bird's life that is problematic.

Advice! Medicines there is no against this disease, since its causes lie in the conditions of detention, but there is a folk method that helps stop the loss of cover.

It is necessary to crush the hooves or horns of animals and use as an additive to the food of birds. If there are no horn parts, then the feathers that the rooster has already lost will also do.

To prevent and prevent the development of alopecia, you need to be attentive to your household. Good nutrition, timely cleaning and disinfection of the premises will help not only prevent the onset of the disease, but also increase the productivity of the farm.

Collapse

An unequivocal answer to this question no. The fact is that such a process can be caused by various external factors and diseases.

Accordingly, the determination of the cause, in each individual case, will take place individually.

The complication also arises from the fact that the disease is often confused with seasonal changes.

Signs of seasonal molting chickens:

• chickens grow bald only in the lower ball of the cover;
• the color of the feathers does not change;
• hair loss does not create bald patches.

If there are no bald patches, then this is a molt

If these three points persist, then there is nothing to worry about. But, if there is a deviation, then this is the first wake-up call.

Alopecia - what is it?

In veterinary medicine, the term alopecia is common. It denotes a disease in birds that leads them to baldness. That is, we are talking not about seasonal shedding of feathers, but about internal defeat, outward sign which is baldness of chickens. There are such types of alopecia:

The first one is hard to find. It is accompanied by prolapse all over the body and in small amounts. The second is immediately noticeable - a bald spot is formed on the affected area.

The first sign of illness is the loss of tail feathers. Next, there is a prolapse on the back, in the neck and head. On the wings, the disease is displayed last. Often the bird loses up to 90% of the feather cover.

Signs of alopecia

Although laying hens have an unattractive appearance, the disease is not so serious. In veterinary medicine, there is a special treatment that can return the bird to its former appearance.

Causes of baldness: what affects?

Experts identify several factors that can provoke the disease. Among them:

Plumage, in most cases, is provoked by malnutrition.

The lack or excess of vitamins and minerals in the diet leads to the fact that the bird begins to lose feathers.

Also, the reason may be the fact that at one meal the owners give different elements that are incompatible with each other and have a detrimental effect on the body.

Not less than common cause and poor conditions for keeping chickens. The owners are surprised why the feathers of the hens fall out, despite the unsanitary conditions created in the chicken coop.

Attention!

Laying hens are demanding birds. It is very important to correctly set the room temperature, lighting and ventilation. If the indicators are violated, alopecia may develop.

Also, quite often make the mistake of not supplementing. For laying hens and any other birds, it is important not only to eat varied and rich in elements of food, but also to have it in sufficient quantities. If the bird does not have enough food, it begins to go bald.

If the birds do not have enough food, then they can begin to go bald.

Therefore, it is necessary to determine why chickens go bald based on the conditions in which they are kept and what they eat. If you follow all the rules, then there should be no problems. But, if alopecia is observed, it is worth reconsidering the attitude to nutrition and the external environment.

How to confirm the disease?

You don't have to go to the vet to make sure there is a problem. Alopecia is easily diagnosed at home. To do this, just carefully examine the chicken.

Significant loss of feathers on the tail, neck and back with the formation of bald patches - exact confirmation diseases. The chest and neck area is most affected.

It is important to remember that there are certain foods that can trigger baldness. If the owner gave the chicken a beef thyroid gland, it was she who influenced the appearance of the bird, and not the disease.

How to treat alopecia?

If it was possible to diagnose the problem, then it is worth dealing with its immediate elimination. There are two options:

• home remedies;
• medical preparations.

Very often they prefer to treat chickens old-fashioned methods. Folk remedies are good in terms of cheapness, but they do not always work quickly.

Special preparations can be purchased at any veterinary pharmacy. But, be sure to stick to the dosage.

How to get rid of alopecia with the help of improvised means

Such methods are based on why chickens themselves go bald. Therefore, they recommend:

Medical preparations in the fight against baldness

If you need to fix the problem quickly and radically, then it is better to turn to special remedies. Experts recommend:

• AT 12;
• monocalcium phosphate;
• tricalcium phosphate;
• potassium iodide.

Each of the drugs is added to the feed as a nutritional supplement.

You can view the features of alopecia and its effect on chickens here:

Source: http://1inkubator.ru/bolezni/pochemu-vypadayut-perya-u-nesushki.html

What to do if chickens lose feathers?

Livestock breeders are often faced with bird baldness. Feather loss in chickens is manifested by the occurrence of alopecia. Areas of baldness appear first on the neck, then on the back. Poultry farmers notice that the cover of laying hens becomes brittle and disheveled, thins out. Skin spots appear without feathers.

The harmfulness of baldness consists not only in the untidy appearance of the bird - the development of the individual slows down, egg production decreases. Gradually, chickens fall out feathers on their backs, wings, belly, tail, buttocks. Egg laying stops.

It is necessary to understand why feathers fall out and eliminate the cause of the anomaly.

Beginning of the molt

Causes of baldness

The process of feather loss in a bird is called molting. Why do chickens go bald? This happens for the following reasons.

Juvenile molt

The juvenile feather change begins in chicks of one month of age and continues until the laying of hens begins. With full feeding, this natural process is painless, the bird peels off and overgrows again.

The result of malnutrition of a broiler

Seasonal feather change

Chickens lose feathers mainly in autumn. AT wild nature the bird incubates the chicks in the spring to ensure their survival in warm weather.

The intensity of oviposition stimulates a lengthening daylight hours. Why do birds go bald in autumn? Shortening daylight hours inhibits reproductive function.

Alopecia in chickens occurs due to the need to renew their plumage for winter.

Egg-laying during natural molting stops for 4–5 months. Zootechnical breeding has brought out breeds of chickens in which the instinct of incubation is suppressed, capable of rushing with negative temperatures if they artificially extend daylight hours to 12-14 hours.

seasonal molt

Forced

Egg poultry farming cannot be profitable if the duration of the change of plumage is 4 months or more. Therefore, farmers use forced molting.

In the conditions of poultry farms, after an 8–10-month laying cycle, the state of the livestock is assessed and a decision is made whether to change it or carry out artificial molting.

At the same time, egg production will decrease somewhat, but it will not be necessary to spend time and money on raising young animals.

spring molt

Pathological

Observed in broiler chickens and laying hens. There are the following causes:

With pathological molting, the loss of luster and brightness of color by feathers is characteristic. The shell becomes thinner, becomes brittle or soft. The red beard and scallop turn pale, dry up. The intensity of oviposition decreases until it stops altogether.

Laying hens peck at the shell of eggs, drink them, cannibalism or pecking develops.

Control measures

What to do to prevent the appearance of bare priests in chickens? The following recommendations must be followed:

• organization of the poultry keeping system;
• feeding optimization;
• carrying out artificial molting;
• pest control.

Organization of the poultry management system

An amateur poultry farmer is obliged to ensure that chickens are kept in an insulated barn, if possible, heated. Otherwise, in winter there will be an overexpenditure of feed for heat production.

The room should be natural or forced ventilation, as well as electric lighting to extend daylight hours to 12-14 hours in autumn and winter. It is required to ensure optimal planting density.

Walking areas are equipped with a hard surface to protect the bird from getting wet in the mud.

Dried scallop. The chicken is not laying

Feeding optimization

The best way to prevent pathological molting is the use of complete feed. The disadvantage is their high cost.

If the poultry farmer has grain of his own production, he can make a complete feed mixture by including PMMA in an amount of up to 15% by weight of the diet.

If a farmer, in addition to grain, has sunflower or soybean meal, feed costs can be reduced by purchasing 3% Superconcentrate for laying hens. True, you will have to purchase calcium top dressing - shell or limestone.

Carrying out artificial molting

Natural or pathological molting lasts 4–5 months, during which time the bird does not produce eggs, which leads to overspending of feed and money for livestock maintenance.

Schemes for the change of plumage have been developed, ending with the resumption of egg-laying 2 months after the start.

Chickens are deprived of food, water and light for 3 days, or other options for influencing the body are used. The feather reset begins, the birds become bald.

For about a week they are fed with grain, starting with 20 g and gradually increasing to the norm - 110–120 g of dry food. Cereal components are replaced with complete feed.

Duration light regime gradually increase to 12-14 hours.

On the 10th day, chickens are transferred to an enhanced diet with increased level amino acids, energy, as well as other nutritional components to stimulate the growth of new feathers to replace the fallen ones. After that, the bird is given standard compound feed. A month later, oviposition resumes.

Disinsection

How to treat hair loss caused by lice? It is necessary to carry out disinfestation of the premises, freeing it from the bird.

Farmers who are accustomed to using non-traditional treatment should understand that it is possible to stop baldness of chickens using the achievements modern science. Amateur poultry farmers are offered to solve problems in alternative ways:

• elimination of sulfur deficiency;
• optimization of mineral nutrition;
• providing chickens with vitamins.

Elimination of sulfur deficiency

The basis of the pen is the sulfur-containing amino acid cystine, which can be synthesized in the body from methionine. The drug is contained in BVMK or premixes.

The need for methionine is reduced if sodium sulfate is included in the feed mixture instead of chloride ( table salt). Poultry farms use meat and feather meal from dead chickens.

The use of chopped feathers or crushed ungulate horns as food is a thing of the past. The above methods are useful.

Chickens peck eggs

Optimization of mineral nutrition

Laying hens need calcium supplements - shell or limestone. If you want to increase the amount of phosphorus, use tricalcium phosphate not more than 2% by weight. The use of chalk is not recommended, it worsens the structure of the feed, making it difficult to consume.

Providing chickens with vitamins

A poultry farmer who seeks to enrich the diet of a bird with any vitamin or microelement risks making a mistake and doing harm. It is recommended to use ready-made premixes for chickens, in which biological catalysts are contained in sufficient quantities at an optimal ratio.

Source: https://fermers.ru/veterinariya/pticy/vypadenie-peryev-kur

Fermaved.ru » Poultry » Chickens » Causes of feather loss in chickens and methods of treatment

Every person who breeds poultry wants his animals to be healthy and the productivity from their breeding to be at the highest possible level. But sometimes it happens that birds fall out feathers in different parts of the body.

This process has received the scientific name - alopecia. The causes of the phenomenon can be different, therefore, before starting to take any measures, the owners should find out why feathers fall out of chickens.

Only then can you begin to fight alopecia.

Why do chickens drop feathers

It is important to remember that self-treatment of animals, as well as self-treatment of people, can be carried out only after coordinating the methods with a specialist. It is also important to remember that the use of official medicines does not always give an immediate effect.

Distinctive features of the problem

It's no secret that chickens, like any other birds, go through a seasonal molt.

During this period, feathers from the tail fall out of the birds, foci appear on the neck, and feathers fall off the wings.

Therefore, a person who first encountered such a phenomenon as feather loss may confuse the change of plumage and alopecia.

During the loss of feathers in chickens, which is not due to the seasonal change of plumage, certain parts of the body of the bird fall under the influence of the problem, namely:

• neck and chest area;
• less often - back and tail.

If the fallen feathers are discolored, this clearly indicates that the bird has come under the influence of alopecia. Also, due to the development of a problem situation, fluff may also fall out, which does not occur during seasonal molting.

Chickens go bald due to alopecia at any time of the year. This is one of the main distinguishing features, helping breeders to determine the moment when it is worth worrying about the health of their birds.

As soon as the owner notices that the feathers of his pets began to fall out too abundantly, discolor and cause baldness in certain areas of the body, it is worth finding out what is the cause of the alopecia and taking measures to eliminate the problem, otherwise the chickens may completely lose their plumage. In most cases, it can be argued that complete baldness due to alopecia threatens representatives of meat or meat and dairy breeds, for example, broilers.

What causes feathers to fall out

In order to provide timely and proper assistance to your household, it is important to correctly determine the cause of the loss of plumage from the many possible ones. At the current time, the following reasons for the development of the problem are known, due to which plumage may fall out in laying hens:

Feathers fall out in domestic chickens due to the fact that the diet of birds is not balanced enough. Deviations in bird feeding become the main reason why such a problematic situation as alopecia develops, the skin rejects the feather.

Here you can draw a fairly simple analogy with a person: if in the human body any vitamin or important element is present in insufficient quantities, this begins to affect its state of health and appearance, the skin becomes pale and dry.

Chickens with a similar deficiency begin to lose their plumage on the neck, chest or tail.

Baldness of a bird on the neck and other parts of the body can develop in case of a lack of the following elements obtained through nutrition:

• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• sulfur.

However, in poultry, feathers fall out of the tail or other part of the body, not only when it is not properly fed. In the conditions of keeping laying hens, there is another reason why plumage is rapidly falling out.

Chickens can lose their plumage if, when kept at home, the owners provided them with insufficient lighting, insufficient ventilation, or did not maintain the proper level of cleanliness.

If, in the conditions of keeping and caring for birds, there are no violations that can cause a problem, and feathers continue to fall out on the back, neck or priest, it is worth considering whether the pets receive enough food, maybe they have a lack of vitamins. During the period of seasonal change of plumage, birds eat 2 times more than in the rest of the time. It is for this reason that with insufficient feeding, the chicken may lose those feathers that she needs.

Symptomatic picture of alopecia

The fact that a bird is prone to plumage loss can be recognized by several signs.

As soon as they are identified, it is worth starting to determine the cause of this phenomenon and appropriate therapeutic measures, otherwise the health of the bird will weaken so much that it will become vulnerable to all possible diseases.

The presence of alopecia is indicated not only by the deprivation of feathers and fluff, but also by a decrease in the egg production of pets, a decrease in immunity and weight loss. Cases of chicken cannibalism due to the development of this problem are also known.

With alopecia, basically the desired cover falls on the neck, back, root of the tail, on the stomach and chest.

Running cases can lead to complete baldness of the feathered.

The initial examination of a sick animal also shows that in the affected areas of the code it has become inflamed, sometimes bruising may even appear.

What are the ways to solve the problem

In order to cure your pets, it is important to understand as clearly as possible why feathers fall out on the butt or neck of both the chicken and the rooster.

Each specific case of alopecia development requires individual measures, so the owner needs to clearly know what to do when plumage falls out on the back, neck or tail, depending on the cause.

How to deal with malnutrition

As mentioned earlier, the causes of feather loss begin with an improper diet. An auxiliary symptom in this case is that the feathers do not shine enough. Egg laying levels may also decrease. In this case, you can fix the problem as follows:

1. Add more minerals and vitamins to the feed. You can do this by buying special additives in the store.
2. In addition to vitamins, add sulfur to the feed in the amount of 0.3 g for each meal. Instead of sulfur, Glauber's salt can be used.
3. The use of solutions of iodine or potassium permanganate will help restore the balance of minerals. To prevent the loss of plumage, such solutions are watered in the morning 1 time in 2 days.

What will help stop the loss with the wrong content

If the reason for the development of feather loss lies in the conditions in which birds are kept, it is quite simple to correct the situation: all contamination should be removed from the premises for keeping birds, and then disinfected. Also, checking and adjusting the ventilation system and airing the premises will help fix the problem.

To do this, it is enough to make a window of a sufficiently large size in the building where the chickens are located. A large window will allow sunlight to freely enter the building for natural disinfection.

Also, to solve the problem, it is important to provide your pets with the opportunity to walk on open space at least 1 hour per day. Regular walks can strengthen the immune system, stretch the muscular system of birds.

It is important to regularly and timely ventilate chicken coops, as well as carry out regular disinfection in them.

What else can help

It is important not only to stop the loss of plumage on the neck and other parts of the body of the chicken, but also to restore the lost cover. It is also necessary to return the fallen indicators.

To do this, you can purchase lamps that emit ultraviolet light, with sufficient financial capacity.

Also, in restoring the state of health with alopecia, the use of the following foods helps:

• legumes;
• bone flour;
• cabbage;
• roots;
• cake;
• oats.

Also, the stabilization of adult hens and chickens when feathers fall out will help reduce the amount of fatty foods in the diet. Sometimes a disturbance in the feeding system of birds can cause molting.

To understand what exactly causes molting, you need to monitor pets, observing whether a change in food helps. If a change in diet does not help, you need to look for a specialist veterinarian.

Conclusion

Alopecia is a rather serious problem. It leads to the fact that birds not only lose their feathers on the neck and elsewhere, they go into a state of general weakness and vulnerability to disease due to weakened immunity.

Before doing anything to stop this process, it is important to distinguish alopecia from normal seasonal shedding. The distinguishing features are as follows:

• feathers lose their luster, and the fallen plumage is discolored;
• with alopecia, not only feathers can fall out, but also fluff;
• the skin in the affected areas turns red, bruising is possible;
• the level of laying eggs decreases, immunity is weakened.

So, if the pets are going bald, and the skin at the place where the feathers fell out turned red - it's time to run as fast as you can to the veterinarian for advice, although there are many folk remedies that will help eliminate the problem and stabilize the condition of feathered pets.

However, before applying them, it is important to correctly determine the cause of alopecia, otherwise the measures taken will not be effective enough and will not be able to completely eliminate the problem. In the event that all of the above methods do not help, you need to change the place where the birds are kept.

Source: https://FermoVed.ru/kuryi/vypadayut-perya.html

Causes of alopecia in birds or why do chickens go bald?

Chicken coop owners often face the problem of baldness in their birds. Scientifically, this disease in chickens is called alopecia. There can be many reasons for its occurrence, so let's take a closer look at why it occurs and how to treat it.

What is alopecia in chickens?

This is a disease that leads to hair loss. This does not mean shedding feathers according to seasons, but namely problems with the body of the chicken, while feathers fall out of season and their loss increases.

Alopecia is divided into two types:

1. Partial - occurs throughout the body and in small quantities, so it is difficult to notice it.
2. Complete - a noticeable bald spot on a diseased area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe body.

Possible causes of alopecia in chickens can be:

First, the plumage begins to fall out on the tail, then on the back, neck and head. Wings are struck at the last moment.

Feathers become faded and not elastic, fluff can also fall out. As a result, it is possible to lose so many feathers that the birds remain practically naked.

There may be skin lesions, bruising near the foci of alopecia.

Changes during internal organs not typical if you immediately pay attention to the problem and cure it.

But if the cause of feather loss is not eliminated, then due to beriberi and infection, there may be violations in different systems organs.

Lack of vitamins in laying hens, due to illness, can cause the hen to rarely lay, or even stop doing so.

Diagnostics

There are several options for confirming the diagnosis. The first is to refer to veterinarian. The second is to examine the bird and see certain symptoms of feather loss out of season, and the presence of conditions for alopecia.

Modern methods of treatment

In order to cure, you must first remove the causes of the disease.:

For fast and effective treatment and restoration of plumage, as food additives are used: B-12 and other vitamins, calcium (gypsum, chalk, tricalcium phosphate and monocalcium phosphate), potassium iodide, manganese sulphate, meat and bone meal, sulfur (2-3 mg per 1 individual), you can drink once a day with iodine or weak potassium permanganate.

You can also use folk methods treatment:

• Grind the fallen feathers and add this mixture to food. Feathers contain cysteine, which contributes to their formation.
• Give crushed horns and hooves so that the bird receives the missing trace elements from them.

If the plumage of birds is restored, and they again delight with their beauty, then for a warning reappearance disease, you need to follow a few easy rules:

1. During molting, it is desirable to give the bird food rich in organic sulfur: cabbage leaves, legumes, meat and bone and blood meal. Important! If you give chicken beef thyroid gland, then baldness may occur.
2. Feed should be sufficient and it should be saturated with essential minerals and vitamins.
3. Frequent cleaning and disinfection of the chicken coop will prevent feather and health problems.

To maintain the health of chickens, it is necessary to follow the principles of proper maintenance and care. To prevent vitamin D deficiency, it is recommended to install in winter ultraviolet lamps, and in summer it is necessary to release birds on Fresh air and sunlight for 6-8 hours.

Conclusion

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Source: https://selo.guru/ptitsa/kury/bolezni/narushenie-pitaniya/alopetsiya.html

Why chickens go bald: causes of fluff loss in different parts of the body and treatment methods

Uniform coverage of the body of the chicken with fluff indicates the absence of health problems in poultry.

Baldness of birds can begin suddenly, but the activation of the process is observed under the influence of certain causes that affect the health of chickens for a long time. Violation of perogenesis usually occurs sequentially - first of all, the back and tail go bald, and only then the head and chest.

Alopecia areata, lack of shine, increased fragility of feathers are signs of physiological problems.

Fluff shedding enhancement factors:

The appearance of plucked areas on the back, mainly in the area of ​​​​the wings, indicates a prejudiced attitude of the rooster, which prefers to show its dominance by pecking feathers from the most beloved hens. If only the head is plucked from the chicken, then in this way the rooster can demonstrate a gesture of disrespect if the chicken has done something wrong to him.

AT autumn time the loss of feathers is considered the norm, since there is a natural molt associated with a reduction in the length of daylight hours.

In this state, the feathers fall out evenly over the entire surface. Laying hens at the age of 16-20 weeks, including in the spring, may experience natural baldness.

In the rest of its life, molting will begin only in the autumn.

If the chicken's wings and back are bald, the rooster is most likely to blame.

What is the danger of the disease

Violation of the integrity of the cover brings dangerous inconvenience to the bird, which begins to get sick more often due to impaired functioning various systems body, including leading to a deficiency in the body nutrients. Vitamin deficiency in laying hens, which donate most of the nutrients to the egg formation process, disrupts the reproductive activity of the bird.

For this reason, at first the chicken begins to lay less often (egg production decreases), and then it completely stops doing it. Such a hen is later suitable only for slaughter, although the loss of plumage in itself does not lead to death.

The loss of plumage also brings aesthetic discomfort: the birds look sickly and scare off buyers if chickens or eggs are sold on a private farm.

Baldness can indicate health problems.

Especially unfavorable is the loss of feathers in Maran chickens, which is considered the most beautiful precisely because of its spectacular plumage (thick body cover and long feathers).

The mechanism of baldness in this variety does not differ, but more often it manifests itself precisely because of a lack of nutrition.

The cause of baldness is malnutrition

Ways to eliminate the lack of plumage in chickens depend on the cause that caused the increased loss of feathers. One of them is a broken diet. Lack of sulfur, phosphorus, cystine, iodine and calcium are the main causes of adverse changes.

Significantly strengthen the immune system by adding sunflower seeds to the diet, legumes, meal and cake.

One of the causes of alopecia is an unbalanced diet.

Mandatory components should be: corn, wheat and oat bran, barley, rye, millet.

The percentage of buckwheat in the daily diet cannot be higher than 10%. When the first signs of feather loss appear, specific substances should be introduced into the diet.

Feeding introduction:

• addition of 0.2 to 0.3 g of sulfur daily;
• feeding 1 g of Glauber's salt (in the absence of sulfur);
• dissolving potassium iodide or potassium permanganate in water.

If the birds receive food saturated with trace elements, then the loss of feathers indicates an insufficient amount of incoming food.

Availability own garden will fill this gap and give the birds carrots, turnips, beets, radishes (preliminary grinding is required), which help to significantly diversify the diet and strengthen immunity.

With beriberi, you can add fodder sulfur to the feed for chickens.

Lack of good ventilation, infrequent cleaning and low light lead to feather loss or insufficient development of new down. Elimination of violations of the content helps to quickly return the natural plumage to chickens.

in the impurity of the litter, which is saturated with moisture, leads to baldness in the chickens of the cesspool (buttocks) area.

Constant contact of contaminants with feathers provokes their removal from the carcass - as a result, alopecia areata is formed.

Attention!

To prevent the bedding from being too wet, it is recommended to periodically change it or dry it with fan heaters.

Other tips for normalizing conditions:

• stabilize the temperature in the chicken coop up to 22 degrees;
• create humidity not higher than 60%;
• eliminate the appearance of drafts;
• increase daylight hours.

The chicken coop bedding should be clean and dry.

An example of improper maintenance is the creation of cramped conditions for the habitat of chickens.

Especially the lack of space is observed when growing birds on poultry farms, where they are kept in small cages or in maximum proximity with other relatives.

As a result, chickens pull out each other's feathers, and also lose them in the process of constant contact with the walls of the cage.

Poultry farms also do not walk poultry that does not receive enough oxygen and sunlight. Understanding these shortcomings, the owners of poultry farms are gradually switching to breeds that do not have feathers. For such birds, the absence of plumage is the norm.

Often the cause of baldness is hair loss.

What parts are affected:

In this case, the process begins precisely with the buttocks of the chicken, and only then goes to the back and other parts of the carcass described above.

Insect-acaricidal powders are used to treat the place where chickens are kept (up to 150 g per 1 meter of the room) and the birds themselves (10–15 g per bird). For preventive purposes, powder can be added to ash baths.

Suspicions of the presence of a lice may arise for another reason. Chickens in spring time immunity usually increases, but sometimes birds begin to go bald even during the warming period.

In the photo, chickens affected by downy eaters.

ADVICE. After processing the birds, it is necessary to place new bedding and burn the old ones to prevent re-infestation by the lice.

Medicines for alopecia

The restoration of healthy growth of feathers is mainly done by eliminating factors associated with improper keeping or feeding of the bird. Auxiliary methods of correction may be some drugs.

Useful medicines for alopecia:

1. Chiktonik. A complex multivitamin remedy that allows you to make up for the deficiency of trace elements in the body of a chicken.
2. Gamavit. Immunomodulating agent for weakened birds.
3. Ganasupervit. Water-soluble vitamins, including not only calcium, ascorbic acid and magnesium, but also retinol, as well as potassium iodide.
4. Desi spray. The Wound Healing Spray helps eliminate ulcers that may form at the site of fluff loss.

For the treatment of alopecia, many farmers successfully use Chiktonik.

The medicine can also be called special feed mixtures focused on restoring the feather cover. The most famous variant is Operin.

Folk methods for solving the problem

Homeowners often use folk recipes for the treatment of baldness in chickens.

2 methods are considered the most effective:

• Recycling dropped feathers. After grinding them to a state of dust, the owner adds the mixture to the food: the cysteine-rich additive leads to the active growth of new fluff.
• Use of horns and hooves. Chopping up parts of cattle helps chickens get powerful concentration as well. useful substances.

You can add ground fallen feathers to chicken feed.

However, not all waste can be fed to chickens: the thyroid gland of cows has the opposite effect - feather loss only intensifies.

Source: http://ferma-nasele.ru/pochemu-kury-lyseyut.html

Why do laying hens drop feathers?

Each owner of the poultry yard, of course, wants his birds not to get sick and show maximum productivity. But, unfortunately, their illnesses are not uncommon.

Sometimes the question arises before poultry farmers: why do feathers fall out from laying hens? What's happening? The chicken not only loses its feather, but may even become partially bald. This process is considered a disease of chickens, and is scientifically called alopecia.

Let's take a closer look at this phenomenon. And we will find out why feathers fall out on the back and other parts of the body in chickens.

seasonal molt

If the chicken has begun to lose feathers, do not panic! First you need to make sure that this is not a molt. Seasonal molting is a natural process of feather renewal in a bird. The change of feathers goes strictly in sequence:

• head;
• breast;
• back;
• wings;
• sides;
• tail.

Shedding in poultry depends on age and time of year. In spring, molting begins only in young chickens, the rest of the bird molts in autumn. This process takes four to eight weeks.

What is alopecia?

Owners of chickens are faced with such a problem: the bird loses its feather, goes bald. This does not happen during the autumn molt, but can happen at any time of the year.

Parts of the body usually affected are the neck, back, and chest. Feathers become brittle, and the chicken can lose not only them, but also fluff.

All this is different from the usual molt and is considered a disease that is called “alopecia”.

It is important to notice the disease at the very beginning. With alopecia, the feathers of a bird become discolored, lose their luster and fall out.

And during seasonal molting, small feathers fall out from the lower layers. There is a difference.

If chickens are losing feathers, why should you be worried? What is the risk? If treatment is not started immediately, the bird can very quickly lose up to 90% of its plumage.

Causes of alopecia

Baldness of birds can begin quite suddenly. This process is enhanced under the influence of certain factors. You should consider the reasons why feathers fall out in chickens.

One of the main ones is considered unbalanced diet when the diet lacks vitamins and minerals, as well as loss is possible with a lack of cystine, calcium, sulfur, iodine, phosphorus and manganese.

Damage to the skin gives the bird serious inconvenience. With alopecia, the functioning of vital organs is disrupted, the bird has a nutritional deficiency.

In laying hens, the reproductive function is disturbed, due to the fact that most of the nutrients are spent on egg formation. A sick bird begins to lay fewer eggs, and then the laying stops altogether.

The bird weakens and grows thin, a fatal outcome is possible.

Elimination of causes

So, first of all, it is necessary to identify the reason why feathers fall out in chickens. With timely treatment, the bird can be saved. Consider the causes and their elimination.

Improper nutrition

If the diet is disturbed, chickens lose their luster of plumage, feathers begin to fall out, and egg production decreases. What should be done:

1. The presence of mineral supplements and vitamins in the feed is necessary. Special additives can be purchased at the store.
2. Together with vitamins, sulfur or Glauber's salt should be added to the feed at each meal.
3. To replenish the level of minerals, potassium permanganate or iodine should be added to drinking water in the morning.
4. It is necessary to buy benign special food in the store. From natural feeds, it is useful to add cabbage leaves, vegetables of the legume family, as well as bone meal to the feed. These products contain sulfur, which contains components that promote feather growth. You can add to the feed and combustible sulfur, it can be purchased at the pharmacy.

Signs of alopecia

With alopecia, the following areas of the body are affected: back, neck, breast, tail and abdomen. Sometimes a chicken can become completely naked, its skin becomes inflamed, with bruises. When sick, chickens lose weight, stop laying, and immunity is greatly weakened.

Why is the disease dangerous?

Alopecia with timely and proper care is not a severe disease. But if the bird is not treated, even death is possible.

Medicines

Medications are also important. The following medications are used to treat alopecia:

• "Ganasupervit" - water-soluble vitamins;
• "Chiktonik" - a multivitamin remedy;
• "Gamavit" - an immunomodulatory agent;
• "Desi Spray" - wound healing spray;
• "Operin" is a feed mixture that is equated to medicines.

Folk remedies

Can be used to treat disease folk remedies. The horns or hooves of domestic animals are best suited for this purpose. It is necessary to prepare flour from them and add them to the feed daily.

It is believed that organic products are very effective: they help stop the loss of feathers and promote the growth of new ones. Flour should be used until the result is visually noticeable.

If it is not possible to prepare flour from horns and hooves, you should proceed as follows: collect all the feathers in the chicken coop, chop and add to the feed.

They also contain cystine, which will also give a positive effect.

Wrong conditions of detention

If it became known that the cause of alopecia is poor maintenance, it is enough to carry out the following activities (in the absence of a bird):

• clean up the room;
• carry out a complete disinfection;
• carry out ventilation;
• make a hood, if it is not.

The temperature in the room should be maintained at about 22 degrees Celsius, humidity should not exceed 60%, drafts should not be allowed. It is necessary to provide chickens with walking.

They must be able to be outdoors.

Why do chickens drop feathers on their buttocks?

You just need to make sure that the contents in the container are not wet.

• sodium;
• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• bone flour;
• old-slaked lime;
• wood ash;
• fish flour;
• fish fat.

The question of why feathers fall out of chickens is relevant for the owners of these poultry. It is difficult to immediately give an exact answer: they are completely bald. different reasons. The owners will have to determine what is the main factor in this phenomenon and how to protect chickens from baldness and a disease such as alopecia.

Chickens in the household

People who lead household, sometimes face the problem of feather loss in chickens. The most common affected areas are the neck and chest, sometimes the poultry goes bald on the back. In addition, feathers become brittle, sometimes the chicken even loses fluff. Such a phenomenon can occur at any time of the year and, with its signs, is completely unlike the seasonal molting of chickens. This is a disease called alopecia.

If you are careful, you can notice the development of alopecia at the very beginning. How to distinguish the disease from seasonal molting? Everything is quite simple: natural molting does not discolor feathers, but only feathers fall out from the lower layers. If a chicken's neck is going bald, then there is a serious reason to worry.

What can this disease lead to? In case of untimely assistance to the bird, it may lose all its plumage in a short time. Such baldness most often occurs if the chicken is a meat or meat-and-egg breed.

Causes of alopecia

First, let's look at the reasons why laying hens lose their feathers. main reason alopecia is always the wrong diet. Have you noticed that when a person has a lack of vitamins in the body, this immediately affects appearance? So, the same thing happens with poultry, only the main indicator is chicken baldness. If the body of the laying hen lacks such minerals and vitamins as iodine, calcium, sulfur, phosphorus, then this will certainly cause the development of alopecia in the bird.

Bald neck is a clear sign of illness

In the process of seasonal molting in chickens, their body requires twice as much food, if the latter is not enough, then the feathers needed by the birds may well fall out. To sum up the factors, the reasons why chickens lose their plumage are:

What to do if birds fall out of feathers? pledge proper treatment is the correct determination of the cause of the disease in your poultry. Therefore, we will consider each of the factors separately, as well as what symptoms are possible and what treatment to give the bird.

Chickens are losing their feathers

Unbalanced diet

A sign of malnutrition in chickens is the lack of shine on the plumage, feather loss, and the level of egg production may decrease. In such situations, you need:

• add to feed large quantity vitamin and mineral supplements (they can be easily found in stores);
• sulfur must be added to vitamins in food (about 0.3 grams with each meal), sulfur can be exchanged for Glauber's salt;
• to restore the level of minerals, use a manganese or iodine solution (they need to drink in one day in the morning).

Symptoms of alopecia

The main affected areas of this disease are the back, neck, tail root, chest and abdomen. Often the disease progresses so much that the chicken becomes completely naked. When they begin to examine a sick bird, it is noticeable that the skin has become inflamed, sometimes even bruised.

Why is it so important to notice alopecia in time? When ill, chickens not only lose all their plumage, they begin to lose weight, egg production drops to a minimum. In rare cases, it happens that cannibalism develops between birds; immunity decreases, birds can easily pick up any disease.

Treatment for alopecia

Here you can refer to folk medicine Because organic products are the best. If the hooves, horns of any domestic animal are wiped to the point of flour and constantly added to the food of chickens, then this can prevent feathers from falling out and resume their growth. You need to use such a remedy until the result becomes obvious (instead of horns, you can collect the same feathers and add them chopped into chicken food).

Conditions violated

If the reason for the loss of feathers is precisely the wrong keeping of the bird, then everything can be fixed quite easily:

• remove all dirt, disinfect the room;
• check ventilation, ventilate the room;
• do more window, to Sun rays could get into the room (sunlight conducts excellent natural disinfection).

Well, your chickens should spend at least an hour outside every day, this gives an excellent hardening to the body, helps to stretch the muscles and so on.

To combat the disease, it is necessary to improve the conditions for keeping chickens.

With an affordable financial opportunity, you should install ultraviolet lamps in the chicken coop. Why is this needed? AT winter period Thanks to the lamps, chickens will begin to lay well, and ultraviolet light will make up for the lack of vitamin D in the body of birds. Good prevention against alopecia are bone meal, cabbage, legumes and root crops (these products help restore the plumage of laying hens). It is recommended to introduce oats, cake, and reduce fatty foods into the diet.

There are a number of reasons why feathers in chickens may fall out. Depending on the factor, the treatment of the bird changes. It is important to notice the developing disease on early stages(and feather loss in chickens is a disease - alopecia). If you notice an ailment, you need to as soon as possible determine the cause of its development, eliminate irritating factors and begin treatment of a sick bird.

A caring owner will always remember about prevention, and then his household will not be in any danger. Be attentive to chickens, and then there will be no need to treat them for feather loss.